I imported the tracks into Studio One v4, augmented the bass with Toontracks EZbass, added additional piano parts, used TR5 plugins to alter sound of loop. Used Lurssen Mastering Console for mastering.
===========================================
I wrote this song in July for a Facebook Cut-Up Method group I was in. I had started several other songs that month, and with 2 days to go before I submitted my project, I read a political article that bothered me, and I ended up writing this song sketch. It's still very rough, but it's a good place holder, I think. And it was fun and cathartic to write.
UPDATE 2020 Nov 7: I forgot to mention that in the video, I have the Inkspots playing at the end. This was for my Cut-Up Method group. I wanted to assure them that I wasn't advocating violence, rather love. This Inkspots clip is not on the Soundcloud version and obviously wouldn't be on an album.
Excellent vocal on this groovy feel, Todd! Loved the lyrics; wonderfully written song. Good production. Man, you got the voice for anything. If you can write something this good because of a political comment, you came to the right world. Now about that ending...
BIAB 2025,RB 2025,PTA 2024,Windows 11,Studio One PRO 5.5.2,Melodyne Studio 5.4.2.006,Sibelius 8.4.1,Acoustica 7.4.14,Notion 6,Progression 3,Harmony Assistant 9.9.5c,RX9,Ripx DeepAudio 7.5.1,Kontakt 7.10.7,DeCoda 1.3.2,Synthesizer V Studio Pro 1.12.2
Excellent vocal on this groovy feel, Todd! Loved the lyrics; wonderfully written song. Good production. Man, you got the voice for anything. If you can write something this good because of a political comment, you came to the right world. Now about that ending...
Thanks so much, Marty, for watching and commenting. I really appreciate your kind words. That's a beautiful thing you've written: "you came to the right world". That means a lot to me. Thank you!
If you are calling this "very rough" I can't WAIT to hear your "smooth"!!
Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly.
Man! you've got talent. Bucket loads...
Can you expanded on the "Cut-Up Method"? And where do you come up with such terms and "groups"???....
I like the message, some thought provoking lyrics. Band songs good, vocals bring it home. Video production was interesting.
Thanks so much. I appreciate it. The video was a last-minute thing before I submitted my song to my songwriting group on Facebook. It was during the protests and fires in the US, so I used news footage and then overlaid a bunch of photos related to current political issues.
If you are calling this "very rough" I can't WAIT to hear your "smooth"!!
Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly.
Man! you've got talent. Bucket loads...
Can you expanded on the "Cut-Up Method"? And where do you come up with such terms and "groups"???....
Great stuff.
fj
Hi, FJ.
Thanks again for your kind words and the specificity of what you like about the song and for your questions. Makes me feel better about my songwriting. Thank you for that.
You asked about the Cut-Up method. This technique started with the Dadaists in the 1920s when Tristan Tzara offered to create a poem on the spot by pulling words at random from a hat. The technique become popular in the 50s and 60s with William Burroughs. Bob Dylan used it a bit, as did David Bowie and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. When I do a cut-up, I like to get at least 2 texts. I often get a really bad science fiction book and a really bad romance novel. Then I flip through them and cut out words and phrases that I like. I arrange them until I find something interesting and then I glue them onto a piece of colored paper. Sometimes I'll recut them and paste them down again. From this poem-like object, I write a rough draft of a lyric. Then I continue to explore the images, sounds, and personas as I write subsequent drafts. Eventually I come up with some music and inevitably, as I'm trying to get the lines to fit the music, I make more rewrites. I usually get somewhere between 8 to 10 drafts, sometimes more.
Most of the Facebook writing groups I'm in started from relationships formed at a songwriting retreat called Crooked Crow. A close friend of mine, Johann Wagner, started the retreat, and I've been both a participant and a teacher there. Lots of great artists have come through the retreat: Adrieanne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief, Gregory Alan Isakov, Pete & Crystal Damore of Ordinary Elephant. Johann Wagner and I were friends at college. I was a graduate student in poetry and he was an undergrad studying jazz guitar. Along with several other songwriters, we started a writing group called The Kitchen Sink Poets. We explored a lot of experimental and fun ways to "discover" a text. When I was a teacher at the university, I also taught these methods to my students: cut-up technique, translitic, ekphrasis, etc. Through the years, Johann and I (and others) have continued to use these methods to find fresh and new material.
Thanks again for your kind words, and if you'd like to know more about any of these techniques and how to apply them to songwriting, I'd be happy to share what I know.
We rarely quote from other posts but man did fj ever nail it with,
"Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly."
Reading through your response to him regarding the technique was absolutely fascinating. And how it can come to such wonderful fruition is amazing.
A gem on the showcase indeed. We'll only add to fj's comment by mentioning how cool the arrangement is.
Most enjoyable!
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos are here on our website.
Bowie spent some time in Cut Up land--- made it pretty popular in the early 70s - for a while. This is cool with a contemporary edge that matches the contemporary events. Needed a little Stevie Ray at some stage though. The ink's a nice touch.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Really enjoyed your singing. The alliteration works really well.
Everything about this is super-musical: the phrasing, the melody, the arrangement.
As floyd jane said, you've clearly got talent.
Thanks so much, David. I'm happy you enjoyed it. I'm glad the alliteration works. I tend to be heavy on alliteration and other devices in my lyric writing. (I read a lot of Dylan Thomas.) I appreciate your kind words. Cheers, Todd
We rarely quote from other posts but man did fj ever nail it with,
"Truly intriguing lyrics. Remarkable melodies. Incredible vocals - excellent tone , excellent pace, terrific processing - they sit in the mix perfectly."
Reading through your response to him regarding the technique was absolutely fascinating. And how it can come to such wonderful fruition is amazing.
A gem on the showcase indeed. We'll only add to fj's comment by mentioning how cool the arrangement is.
Most enjoyable!
J&B
Hi, J&B. I like that quote. FJ is always so kind and generous with his feedback. I'm happy you read what I wrote FJ about the technique I used to write the lyrics. It helps to steer the lyrics away from the usual places I go (or at least gives me some fresh words & images to sing about those places I usually go in my songs). Really happy you liked the arrangement. Thanks so much. Cheers, Todd
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.
If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!
Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.
Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!
Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:
Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!
Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.